laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē 

ˈlän-

plural laundries

1

a

: a room for doing the family wash

b

: a commercial laundering establishment

2

: clothes or linens that have been or are to be laundered

Examples of laundry in a Sentence

There's a pile of dirty laundry in the laundry basket.

The patients' sheets are sent regularly to the hospital laundry.

Recent Examples on the Web

Castile soap: Castile soap is so versatile, it can be used to clean everything from dishes to laundry and even your body. —Joe Difazio, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025

Insignia dryer with sensor dry and my cycle memory: $549.99 An Insignia 6.7 cubic feet dryer is an average-sized dryer with 10 drying cycles for delicates, towels, everyday laundry and more. —Christopher Murray, FOXNews.com, 19 Apr. 2025

The Laundress makes a ton of other luxury laundry products, like a stain remover pretreatment, wool and cashmere spray, and a static-reducing fabric softener. —Annie Blackman, Allure, 18 Apr. 2025

Let towels soak for about 30 minutes, then rinse and wash in the laundry as usual. —Amy Brightfield, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing laundry

• air one's dirty laundry
• dirty laundry
• do the/one's laundry
• laundry list
• load of laundry

Kids Definition

laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē 

ˈlän-

plural laundries

1

: clothes or linens that have been or are to be laundered

2

: a place where laundering is done

Etymology

from an obsolete word launder (noun) "one who washes clothes," derived from early French lavandier (or lavandiere) "a man (or woman) who washes clothes," from Latin lavandus "needing to be washed," from lavare "to wash" — related to lavatory, lavish, lotion